The use of caddies, utility trays, holders and the like in association with bathtubs and spas is a well known practice. The following patent publications are exemplary of the current state of the prior art in this field: U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,244, issued Nov. 5, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,753, issued Jun. 9, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,927, issued Apr. 22, 1997, U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,036, issued Jan. 13, 1998, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2004/0034914, published Feb. 26, 2004, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2002/0020797, published Feb. 21, 2002.
Many bathers would like to relax in a tub or spa and at the same time read a book, magazine or other reading material. In many instances, the bather also would like to have a cold drink readily available. To read a book, magazine, etc., the bather typically needs to manually hold the reading material while keeping her or his hands out of the water. This is very tiring and impractical in some instances, especially for the elderly. Sometimes candles are used to provide a romantic atmosphere during bathing. One can put drink glasses, ice buckets, candles, etc. on the floor but the bather has to get up to retrieve the item and then must put it back down again. This is highly inconvenient and involves an unnecessary expenditure of energy. Although articles can be placed on some tub or spa rims, they can easily be dislodged.
While caddies and the like are known, they are often inconvenient to use and are inconveniently positioned for the bather. Furthermore, installation and removal of the caddies can be unduly complicated and time consuming. Also, such prior art arrangements can be rather bulky and inconvenient to use or store. Many prior art caddy arrangements do not readily lend themselves to use with different sizes and shapes of tubs and spas.